Reinforced fibrous felts for roofing shingle manufacture

ABSTRACT

A GLASS FIBER FELT IS REINFORCED WITH LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING GLASS FIBER STRANDS APPLIED IN PARALLEL FROM ABOUT 1/8 TO ABOUT 1 INCH APART SO AS TO PROVIDE INCREASED TENSILE STRENGTH EVENLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE FELT. EACH SHINGLE&#39;&#39;S LENGTH IS CUT FROM THE FELT TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF FELT TRAVEL SO THAT THE REINFORCING STRANDS EXTEND FROM THE HEAD PORTION INTO THE BUTT PORTION OF THE SHINGLE. THE STRAND ARRANGEMENT PERMITS FASTER SATURATION AND COATING OF THINNER FELTS AND INCREASES THE TEAR RESISTANCE OF THE SHINGLES.

1972 R. LE RAE CORBIN 3,707,432

REINFORCED FIBROUS FELTS FOR ROOFING SHINGLE MANUFACTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed May 7. 1971 m MC NL [D ATTOKMEV R. LE RAE CORBIN REINFORCEDFIBROUS FELTS FOR ROOFING SHINGLE MANUFACTURE Dec. 26, 1972 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1971 R v TIIII a 5 m F mm mm 9 mm mm m om n@v N? W mm a m M .m w a o a m M m, W m W m H N w. m m m wm g INVEN'I'OR.RAYMOND L. CORBIN A T TOEL/EV United States Patent O 3,707,432REINFORCED FIBROUS FELTS FOR ROOFING SHINGLE MANUFACTURE Raymond Le RaeCorbin, Somerviile, NJ., assignor to lolms-Manville Corporation, NewYork, N.Y. Filed May 7, 1971, Ser. No. 141,309 Int. Cl. 1332b 11/10 US.Cl. 161-141 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A glass fiber felt isreinforced with longitudinally extending glass fiber strands applied inparallel from about A: to about 1 inch apart so as to provide increasedtensile strength evenly distributed throughout the felt. Each shingleslength is cut from the felt transversely of the direction of felt travelso that the reinforcing strands extend from the head portion into thebutt portion of the shingle. The strand arrangement permits fastersaturation and coating of thinner felts and increases the tearresistance of the shingles.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to roof coveringelements and methods of making the same, and is particularly concernedwith strip or self-sealing shingles in which a bituminous mixturesaturates and envelops a glass fiber mat. Although the principles of theinvention will be explained in connection with such shingles, it will beunderstood that these principles are applicable to other inorganic baseshingles as well.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In the manufacture of strip or self-sealingshingles of the present type the principal reinforcement used isfilamentary glass media in the form of a fibrous mat, but to dateconsiderable problems inherent in such felts have not yet been solved.One problem in this field is to find a glass felt which is thin enoughto be adequately coated without prolonged periods of residency in anasphalt bath. The felt must additionally possess sufiicient strength towithstand asphalt coating temperatures and considerable tensile stressesresulting from rapid machine speeds. Another problem in this field is toeliminate the tearing of light weight shingles during and after theirinstallation on a roof.

It has been proposed to solve the above problems by employing glassfiber rovings in a jack straw or hatched pattern to reinforce the felt.Such methods increase the number of fibers per unit area of the felt anddecrease coating rates. It has also been proposed to reinforcepreselected areas of the felt with parallel glass strands extending inthe machine direction. In conventional three lane shingle manufacturingoperations in which the head edge of each shingle extends longitudinallyof the felt, parallel glass strands have been positioned to extendlongitudinally of the felt within the head portions but not within thetab portions of the shingles of each lane. Such methods cause theunreinforced portions of the felt to stretch at a different rate thanthe reinforced portions. The felt bunches up, loses proper alignment andeventual- 1y breaks. It has been proposed to avoid the felt alignmentand breakage problems present in the above described shinglemanufacturing machines by applying the reinforcing strands evenly acrossthe felt. Such methods weaken the tab portions and reduce the fieldperformance of light weight shingles. The shingles tend to tear along areinforcing strand located in the tab portion and extending in thelength direction of the shingle. The probice lem which it is the primaryobjective of the present in vention to solve, is to produce atear-resistant light weight shingle comprising a glass fiber felt whichis thinner, yet stronger and more rapidly coated at higher felt speedsthan glass fiber felts employed in shingles now in use.

Thus, an object of the instant invention is to provide a method usefulin the continuous fabrication of light weight glass fiber base asphaltshingles having sufficient felt weight, tensile strength and tearresistance to prevent felt breakage during rapid coating at highproduction speeds and subsequent handling operations.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of ashingle employing a single glass fiber mat of reduced weight, increasedtensile strength, and suflicient tear resistance to withstand handlingduring manufacture, packaging and installation and to prevent theshingles from blowing off a roof subjected to high wind velocities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To accomplish the stated objects my novelmethod utilizes an inorganic mat such as a glass fiber felt reinforcedwith parallel strands of glass fiber applied thereto in the direction offelt travel from about A; inch to about 1 inch apart so as to impartincreased tensile strength evenly distributed throughout the felt. Aftersaturation, coating, granule embedment, and cooling has occurred, theprocessed felt is cut along a path transverse to the parallel glassstrands so that the length of the shingle is cut along a path transverseto the direction of felt travel. The reinforcing strands will thenextend from the head portion into the tab portion of the shingle. Inaddition as explained hereinafter in more detail, for each shingle cuthead to butt along a length coincident with the width of the felt, thegranules will become embedded in the same direction relative to the sameedge of each shingle cut from the felt defining the length of theshingles head portion. A variety of textural and coloring effectsheretofore prevented by existing felt speeds and previous cuttingarrangements can now be achieved. The increased tensile strength permitsfaster saturation and coating of thicker felts without breakdowns duringcontinuous production of glass fiber base asphalt shingles havingsufficient tear resistance to withstand handling during manufacture,packaging and installation and to prevent shingle blow-off from roofssubjected to high wind velocities.

Significant structural features are incorporated into the elements of mynovel invention, whereby parallel glass reinforcement strands extendingfrom the head portion and into the tab portion of the shingle protectthe finished product against failure 'by tearing due to stressesconcentrating adjacent the ends of cutouts as the shingle is grasped atan end tab and pulled up by a peeling" motion during packaging andinstallation. The fiber strands act as hinges to resist tearing in thecutout region during handling and after installation. Nail headsbridging one or two reinforcing strands afford an increased holdingpower which in combination with the strand hinge action provides thetabs with sufiicient strength and flexibility to prevent the liftingeffect of the wind from blowing them off the roof.

Additional objects and advantages will in part be obvious and will inpart appear hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a typical roofing materialmanufacturing line incorporating among other components, an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a continuous inorganic fiber mat reinforcedwith parallel fiber strands for use in the embodiment of the inventionpictured in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the front face of an embodiment of theinvention fabricated by the roofing machinery of FIG. 1, shown with oneend being lifted.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the inventionfabricated by the roofing machinery of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a continuous sheet of prepared roofing, thedotted portions depicting prospective perirneters of conventionally cutshingles.

' FIG. 7 is a plan view of the continuous inorganic mat of FIG. 2, thedotted portions depicting prospective perimeters of shingles embodyingthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a portion of a roofingmaterial manufacturing line incorporating among other components, analternate embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The prepared roof covering ofthe present invention may be constructed in a number of relativelysimple configurations. In addition the invention will be found tofunction with shingles which have inorganic bases comprised of otherthan glass fiber felts. For the present illustrative purposes theinvention is described in connection with a glass fiber base asphaltmultitab shingle in which the inorganic felt is both saturated andcoated at a single station with the coating material. It should beapparent, however, that the invention can additionally be utilized withshingles having inorganic bases comprising felts which areconventionally saturated and coated by operations which occurconsecutively and at difierent stations. To facilitate the discussion tofollow, the component parts of the product which remain identicalthroughout are provided with the same numeration.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in FIG. 2 there is shown adry glass fiber felt 10 weighing from about .9-3 pounds per 100 squarefeet and reinforced with parallel strands of glass fiber 12 applied tothe felt at from about A; inch to about 1 inch intervals so as to impartincreased tensile strength evenly distributed throughout the felt. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the felt 10 is drawn from jumbo roll 14 throughan asphalt-stabilizer filled coating 16 in coating tank 18 and betweenthe nip 20 of metering rolls 22 and 24. The space 26 between meteringrolls 22 and 24 determines the thickness of asphalt applied to the upperand lower surface of felt 10. Roofing granules 36 released from hoppers28 above felt 10 are embedded or pressed into coating 30 by pressingroll 32.

After roofing granules 36 are bonded with and embedded in the coating30, felt 10 is dusted with talc or mica 31 falling from hopper 33 beforecontinuing around turnover drum 35. Felt 10 then continues aroundwater-cooled drums 38, over guide roll 39, and onto a plurality offestoons for passage through cooling looper 42. The cooled felt is thentransferred to cutting cylinder 44 where knife 45 passes through felt 10along a path transverse to the direction of felt travel and coincidentwith the length of each shingle. Each shingle cut from felt 10 in thismanner will be provided with glass fiber strands 12 extending from thehead portion into the tab portion. The arrow labeled t in FIG. 2indicates the direction of felt travel, while the arrow designated bythe letter p indicates the path along which the approximate lengthdimension of the shingles are cut from felt 10.

Referring to FIG. 8 there is shown an alternate method by which theshingles of the present invention can be produced. A dry glass fiberfelt 110 weighing from about .45 to about 1.5 pounds per square feet andreinforced with parallel strands of glass fiber applied to the felt atfrom about A; to about 1 inch intervals so as to impart increasedtensile strength evenly distributed throughout the felt is drawn, fromjumbo roll 114 through asphalt-stabilizer filled coating 116 in coatingtank 118 and between the nip 120 of metering rolls 122 and 124. Thespace 123 between metering rolls 122 and 124 determines the thickness ofasphalt applied to the upper and lower surface of felt 110. A second dryglass fiber felt 126 is then drawn from jumbo roll 128 and guided ontofelt by guide roll 130. The two felts then move throughasphalt-stabilizer filled coating 132 in coating tank 134 and betweenthe nip 136 of metering rolls 138 and 140. Thereafter the two felts areprocessed in generally the same manner as the single felt 10 of FIG. 1.As illustrated in FIG. 8 and in FIG. 1, asphalt which drips from themetering rolls into container 17 is returned to the coating tank throughconduit 19.

Referring to FIG. 4, the transverse section of a roofing shingleprepared in accordance with the invention is revealed in more detail.Reinforcing strands 12 can be sandwiched between layers of laminatedglass fibers or glued to the outside of the felt to provide a uniformtensile strength sufiicient to prevent weaker portions of the felt fromstretching or bunching during passage between rolls 22 and 24. A tensilestrength which is sufficiently uniform across felt 10 to prevent someportions of the felt from stretching at a different rate from otherportions can sometimes be achieved even though each reinforcing strand12 is not adjacently spaced at identical or regular distances. Formaximum strength, tear resistance and increased nail holding power, itis preferable to apply reinforcing strands 12 at about A; inch intervalsregularly spaced across the felt 10. The above described reinforcingstrands are generally connected to glass fiber felts ranging from 10-45mils thick and weighing from about .9-3 pounds per 100 square feet ofglass fiber after application of a thermosetting binder. Phenolic resinis frequently employed as the binder, but any thermosetting bindercapable of withstanding the temperature of hot asphalt to which it isexposed during manufacture and present in quantities permitting adequateasphalt penetration can be used. When an asphalt shingle, showngenerally at 46 in FIG. 3 with three tab portions 48, 50 and 52 formedby cutouts 54 extending transversely of the length of the shingle fromthe butt edge 56 is picked up at one end by a workman prior to or duringinstallation, considerable stress concentrates near the end 58 of cutout54. Surprisingly, however, shingles constructed in accordance with thepresent invention do not tear during installation or blow off a roofsubjected to high wind velocities. The moment of inertia travels acrossreinforcing strands connected to felts less dense and less highly feltedthan organic mats weighing typically 11.5 pounds per 100 square feet.Acting as hinges, the reinforcing strands provide greater I-beamstrength within the cutout region during handling and afterinstallation.

In one illustrative use of the invention for high speed fabrication ofglass fiber base asphalt shingles, a continuous glass fiber felt 10shown in FIG. 2 with parallel fibrous reinforcing strands 12 spaced atfrom about 4; inch to about 1 inch intervals so as to impart increasedtensile strength uniformly across the felt is saturated and coated withbituminous compound prior to the granule embedment, cooling, cutting andpackaging operations. The increased tensile strength provided by thereinforcing strands permits faster saturation and coating of thinnerfelts without felt breaks, fire hazards, and coating consistency changesresulting in undesirable variances in product quality and loss ofproduction during shutdown. Finished shingles grasped at one end andlifted from a stack of shingles by the Workman are reinforced from headto tab so as to resist considerable stresses forming in the cutoutregion and traveling in a direction parallel to the length of theshingle. Inasmuch as such stresses, occasionally augmented when ashingle adheres or sticks slightly to the next lower shingle in thestack, can be encountered both during and after installation, thelightweight glass fiber base shingles of the present invention areparticularly useful.

Referring to FIG. 6 there is illustrated a standard three lane felt.FIG. 7 illustrates a felt in which the length of each shingle is cuttransversely of the direction of felt travel. FIG. 6 shows a portion ofa shingle sheet 60 comprising a reinforced inorganic felt which has notyet been cut into shingles. Each dotted portion 62 on textural surface64 of the sheet 60 connotes an area appointed to be severed by knife 45of cutting cylinder 44. Granules 36 falling in a substantially verticaldirection from granular hoppers 28 to contact the tacky asphalt coatingbecome oriented or tilted up to 45 from a line drawn perpendicular tothe horizontal surface of the felt. This orientation or angle ofinclination of the granules is in a direction opposite to the directionin which the felt is traveling and may be defined relative to thesurface of the shingles. The granules may additionally be described ashaving an orientation relative to a given edge on the major exteriorsurface of each shingle. In standard three lane shingle manufacturingmachines shingles cut from certain lanes have granules oriented relativeto the same edge of each shingle in a direction different from that ofgranules embedded in shingles cut from other lanes. The reason for thisdifference will become more apparent with reference to FIG. 6. Note thatin FIG. 6 two lanes or rows of shingles have butt portions facing inopposite directions. Since granules 36, when applied to shingle sheet 60tend to become inclined in one direction, shingles 68 from the thirdlane of the felt will have granules pointed in a direction differentfrom shingles 70 of the other two lanes. When the suns rays reflect froma roof on which shingles 68 and 70 are installed in close proximity toeach other, shingles 68 from lane three may appear to be a differentshade from shingles 70 produced in lanes one and two. Unless the sun isdirectly overhead granules inclined toward edges 82 of shingles 70 andgranules inclined toward edges 84 of shingles 68 will reflect light inrespectively difl'erent directions. Differences in the direction oflight reflectance sometimes produced by shingles installed in closeproximity on a roof are popularly referred to as left and rightreflectance variations. Appropriate precautions have heretofore beenrequired to prevent proximate installation of shingles produced on threelane shingle manufacturing machines, as light reflectance variations notobserved by the roofer become more apparent when viewed from an angle ata distance. As illustrated by FIG. 7, shingles 72 cut head to butt alonga path, p, extending in the length direction of each shingle 72 andtransversely of the direction of felt travel, 2, do not produce left andright light reflectance variations. Granules applied to each shingle 72on shingle sheet 90 become inclined in the same direction relative toedge 86 defining the length, l, of the shingles head portion. For eachshingle 72 cut along dotted portions 88 from sheet 90, light reflectancevariations creating conspicuous shade differences between adjacentshingles are visually unapparent not only when the sun is directlyoverhead.

High felt speeds and cutting techniques in which the shingles aresevered from the felt along a path in which the shingles length extendsin the same direction as the direction of felt travel, do not permitgranules of different colors and sizes to be applied to roofing shinglesin a thin continuous strip extending from the head portion and into thebutt portion of each shingle. Unlike the latter cutting arrangements thewidth of vertical granular strips applied to shingles cut in accordancewith the present invention does not depend upon the speed of the felt.Granules can thus be continuously applied to the surface of shingles ofthe present invention in strips or hands 94 as narrow as /2 inch inwidth and extending from the head portion into the butt portion of theshingles. Inasmuch as the granules of a given vertical strip can vary insize and color from granules of other vertical strips, shingles of thepresent invention can be provided with a variety of vertical strips orbands having different colors and textures. Numerous shingle surfacepatterns previously prevented by conventional speeds and cuttingtechniques can be achieved. In addition, the low cost, fire resistant,shingle is more rapidly fabricated from thinner felts lending greaterstrength and tear resistance during and after manufacture, packaging andinstallation. Since shingle designs and construction techniquespreviously though inappropriate are now feasible, glass fiber baseshingles having variegated textural surfaces and sufficient tensilestrength and tear resistance to be compatible with contemporaryaesthetic and economic requirements can be proclosed.

It will be apparent to those versed in the science of shingleconstruction that shingles comprising fibrous felts having the increasedtensile strength and tear resistance produced by the present inventionmay assume a variety of configurations depending upon the type of feltemployed and the aesthetic effect desired. Where appropriate, asdiscussed in connection with FIG. 1, the arrangement may be utilized toincrease the saturation and coating rates of thinner inorganic feltsduring faster production of shingles on a fully integrated materialhandling system. When employing a plurality of glass fiber felts to forma shingle base Weighing at least 9 pounds per square feet, for example,the arrangement of the invention permits exceedingly thin glass fiberfelts weighing from about .45-1.5 pounds per 100 square feet to beutilized. For shingle fabricating systems currently in use, theinvention may be incorporated as an alternative production method in themanufacture of lightweight high tensile strength prepared roofingproducts having variegated textures and numerous tab designs. In placeof the rectangular portion of cutout 54,- arcs of varying radii or arounded non-arcuate shape can be employed. Straight portion 76 could becurved to form portion 78, shown in FIG. 5. Tab portions 48, 50, and 52can be fabricated to create a wide variety of tab configurations. Sincecertain changes may be made in our novel shingle without departing fromthe scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that allmatters contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What I claim is:

1. A bituminous roofing shingle, comprising:

(a) an inorganic base comprising at least one fibrous felt;

-(b) said base coated with bituminous material and comprising a headportion and a butt portion;

(c) granules of particulate material adhered to the bituminous coating;

(d) a plurality of substantially parallel inorganic reinforcing strandsconnected at from about 4: inch to about 1 inch intervals to the felt;

(c) said reinforcing strands extending transversely of the length of theshingle from the head portion into the butt portion.

2. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 1, wherein thereinforcing strands are regularly spaced and comprise glass fibers.

3. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 2, wherein the basecomprises glass fibers and weighs from .9 to 3 pounds per 100 squarefeet.

4. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 3, wherein said baseis formed from a plurality of glass fiber felts each weighing from about.451.5 pounds per 100 square feet.

5. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 3 having at leastone cutout extending transversely of the length of the shingle.

6. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 5 wherein thereinforcing strands extend the entire width of the shingle.

7. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 6 wherein theparticulate material adheres to a surface of the shingle in a band atleast inch wide and extending from the head portion into the buttportion of the shingle.

8. A bituminous roofing shingle as recited in claim 7 including aplurality of said bands of particulate material having different colorsand textures.

9. In a continuous manufacturing process wherein at least onecontinuously moving inorganic felt forms a base which is saturated andcoated with bituminous compound, embedded with granules of particulatematerial, cooled and cut into bituminous roofing shingles each of whichhas a head portion and a butt portion, the improvement comprising thesteps of:

(a) connecting at from about inch to about one inch intervals relativelythin, continuous and substantially parallel strands of glass fiber to atleast the one inorganic felt;

(b) said strands extending in the direction of felt travel;

(0) cutting shingles from said base, after the saturation, coating,embedment and cooling steps, the length of each shingle being cuttarnsversely of the direction of felt travel, whereby said reinforcingstrands extend transversely of the length of each shingle from the headportion into the butt portion.

10. A process as recited in claim 9, including the step of spacing thereinforcing strands at regular intervals across a glass fiber baseweighing from about .9 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet.

11. A process as recited in claim 9 including the step of connectingsaid strands at said intervals to at least a second inorganic felt, saidfirst felt and said second felt forming the base of the shingle, saidstrands extending in the direction of felt travel, and each feltweighing from about .45 to about 1.5 pounds per square feet.

12. A process as recited in claim 10, including the step of embeddingeach granule of particulate material in the bituminous coating materialon the surface of the felt at substantially the same angle from saidsurface and relative to an edge of each shingle cut from the feltdefining the length of the head portion of the shingle.

13. A process as recited in claim 12, wherein a band of particulatematerial at least /2 inch wide is adhered to the surface of said shinglethe band extending from the head portion into the butt portion of theshingle.

14. A process as recited in claim 13, wherein a plurality of said bandsof particulate material are adhered to the shingle, adjacent bandshaving different colors and textures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,369,956 2/1968 Schuetz et al.l61162 3,402,095 9/1968 Varfeldt et a1. 161-162 2,893,889 7/1959 Schuetzet al. 117-30 WILLIAM A. POWELL, Primary Examiner I. I. BELL, AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R.

